


And every breath we drew was hallelujah

by Cheesecloth



Category: Broadchurch, Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Ellie's seen a lot ya know?, M/M, Not related but I think Hardy is a complete softie, Pre-Slash, he and Crowley would be great together, original characters are just plot related
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 00:16:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21290549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheesecloth/pseuds/Cheesecloth
Summary: A demon moves into Broadchurch, and a certain hardy detective gets just a half bit flustered.
Relationships: Crowley (Good Omens)/Alec Hardy
Comments: 5
Kudos: 59





	And every breath we drew was hallelujah

He wears sunglasses inside.

Alec couldn’t get over that detail.

The man, who looked startlingly like an English long-haired ginger doppelgänger of himself, wasn’t blind to Alec’s knowledge.

‘Crowley’, the man called himself.

Alec tapped his pen against his desk. His leg bounced relentlessly.

He was after a suspect. Male with long shoulder-length hair. He was tall. About 180 centimeters. The same as Alec.

The same as the stranger wearing sunglasses inside the car shop while Alec and Ellie were interviewing a possible witness.

Alec had glanced around the shop. It was only for a moment, but his gaze had landed upon a smirking Crowley.

Those glasses were dark, but Alec could swear he _felt _the man wink at him.

And it was making him feel jittery. Even now, he felt shivers every time he thought about it, working away at his office.

He shifted in his seat.

“Fancy some actual food, Hardy?” Ellie asked from the door which he hadn’t heard open, plate in her hand.

He thought about it for a moment. He truly did. He was trying to be better about it, but it was just so easy to decline. “Nah, Miller. Say, do you remember the man at the car shop? Red hair, long, and a tall lad at that?”

“Oh, right. He was about as tall as the suspect that our witness described, wasn’t he? Hair length was about the same too.”

Alec sighed scottishly. “Yeah, right. Was thinking the same. Now what was he doing at the shop, you think? Didn’t look like he worked there. Clothes were too fancy.”

“Right,” Ellie agreed, voice muffled with chips. “All black, too. Down to the sunglasses.”

“What was he doin’ wearing those inside?” Alec asked, leaning back in his chair and placing his feet crossed on his desk.

“Some people have sensitive eyes,” Ellie suggested.

“Think he winked at me,” Alec mumbled.

Ellie coughed. “What?”

Alec repeated himself, even quieter this time. Ellie leaned closer from her spot at the door to hear him.

“How could you even see his eyes?” She asked after a confused beat.

Alec shrugged. “Dunno. Felt it.”

“You’re saying he was gloating? Think he’s the killer?”

“Could’ve been…flirting.”

“Alec, I can’t hear you when you’re mumbling like that. What did you say?”

“Nah. Nevermind.”

“Well, alright then. I’ll look into that man’s location. We can chat him up when we find him.”

“Said his name was Crowley,” Alec said.

Ellie nodded, waving her paper plate of chips and crisps in farewell at him before leaving altogether.

—

“Crowley, isn’t it?” Alec asked.

The ginger from the car shop waved with a smile. There were still sunglasses covering his eyes.

“Right. That’s me.” Crowley shoved his hands in his skinny jean pockets. He moved closer to Alec. There was a sinuous sway in his hips. Alec glanced away quickly.

Ellie raised a brow, unsure of what to make of Alec’s behavior, but finding it just a bit amusing. She took her badge out of her pocket.

“Wessex Police. We’d like to know where you were on the night of May 20th, last Tuesday night.”

“Oh?” Crowley looked between the two, lingering on Alec for a stretch of time, making the usually serious detective squirm.

“Yeah. We’d love to hear your alibi.” Alec said, pointedly not looking at Crowley.

“Alibi? Ah. Last Tuesday, let’s see, let’s see. Oh, I was moving into a new apartment by the beach. Could come visit, if you’d like,” he cocked his hip to the side, wide grin, and Alec squirmed even more. “Started around two in the afternoon. Finished carrying all my boxes in around half-past eight.”

“Did you, ahem, leave at any point, ahem,” Alec cleared his throat repeatedly, looking anywhere but at Crowley, and Ellie was trying to hide her grin.

“My new flat? Which, by the way, you’re very welcome to visit, detective. No, I didn’t leave my flat at any point in those six hours. Too busy unpacking, to be honest.”

“You took six hours carrying all your boxes into your new flat, Mr. Crowley?” Ellie asked.

“Just about, yeah. Sounds quite right. Did it alone after all.”

“And you didn’t leave your flat, at all, for six hours? New flats don’t tend to have power until the first power bill’s paid. Had that done in advance?”

“No,” Crowley said, brows furrowing.

“So what did you have to eat that night?”

Crowley was quiet.

“Well, what did you eat?” Ellie asked.

“Nothing.”

“Oh? Nothing?”

“Nah. Don’t eat much.”

Ellie looked Crowley up and down. The man sure was skinny. Quite a lot like Alec, actually. She glanced at Alec now. Her partner against crime was stealing glances at Crowley, and glaring at the ground after each glance. She stifled a sigh. Alec Hardy was gonna be no help with this one. She’d have to have a long chat with him later.

“Reckon we can have that visit at your flat? Say, now-ish? I’d like to take a look, please.”

“Sure. Fancy a walk? We’re not too far from it now.”

“Yeah,” Alec mumbled. Crowley’s expression was unreadable.

“Right then. This way.”

—

“Couch’s here. Took about an hour to move that in. Feel free to wait here while I make you some tea. Do you like sugar in your tea, any of you?” Crowley asked, making his way to his kitchen.

Crowley had said flat, but both Alec and Ellie were surprised to see it was more like a small mansion.

It may have been a couple of square feet, and it was only one floor…but it looked strangely bigger on the inside.

No matter the size, it was definitely expensive. In fact, the ‘flat’ overlooks the sea quite nicely. It was a peaceful view.

Alec accepted his tea, no sugar, with trembling fingers. Crowley’s had slid against his briefly and they were so warm. So very warm.

He buried himself in his tea so he wouldn’t say anything stupid in front of a very attractive- plain, definitely plain-looking possible suspect.

There was no questioning, no matter how much Alec internally insisted Crowley was very, very plain, that he was definitely flirting with him. It made him feel like his stomach was lined with butterflies. Dozens of them. Hell, maybe hundreds.

He let out a shuddering breath. Ellie and Crowley both looked to him in askance. He shook his head.

“Mr. Crowley,” Ellie started. “Were you anywhere around the Bassmouth Bay restaurant from anywhere around Tuesday night or Wednesday morning?”

“Cutting to the chase, are you? Yes. I was.”

“But you just said that you hadn’t left the flat at all…during those six hours- oh you cheeky bastard.”

“Hm, yeah, was around Bassmouth Bay. I remember seeing the red neon lights of it when I was, ah, around the area.”

“Where were you,” Alec finally piped up, his Scottish accent thicker with his sudden anger, “at half-past ten that night?”

Crowley gawked at him.

“I’m not in the mood for any lies tonight Mr. Crowley. I’ve already heard too much of them the last couple of years here in Broadchurch. Now, we’re going to get this straight. Out with the truth. Now.” Alec growled.

Ellie huffed, similarly fed up.

Crowley looked to his feet, shuffling a bit, and he finally looked up.

“Alright, fine. I was down between Bassmouth Bay and the pub off to the left for a temptation. I don’t do it often, you know, but work had me in a tight spot as of late. _Had_ to do some tempting. Don’t like doing any of the nasty stuff so I just hang around in bars oftentimes, flirting with some men-“

“Men?” Ellie asked. “Anyone in particular?”

Crowley scratched his head. “Yeah,” he sighed. “Man called David Forrest. And perhaps another called Lance Gallagher. Typical human men, simple job, really-“

“Human?” Alec asked. He felt a little unsure, now. Crowley didn’t seem to be connected to the murder victim, who was a woman named Carolynn. Speaking of- “Never mind about that, have you ever met a woman named Carolynn Denise?”

“What do you mean never mind about- no, I’ve never met a woman named Carolynn Denise. I tend to remember names.”

“I have a picture, in case you’ve ever seen her,” Ellie said.

“Sure, I’ll have a look at it.” Crowley gently held the case photo of a brunette woman, around forty years old, neutral grey eyes and a slight frown. Crowley was immediately shaking his head.

“Didn’t see her then?” Alec guessed.

“I did.”

“What?” Alec and Ellie shout at the same time.

“Yeah, I recognize her. Might have uh…she never told me her name. I just helped her regardless. Looked like she was in a bad situation, and it seemed she needed a miracle to get out of it. If a blond man who looks like he owns a bookshop ever meets you, don’t tell him a word of what I’ve said-“

“You helped her? So you were there, at the time she was murdered! At the very location we believe the crime scene originated at!-“ Alec growled.

“She wasn’t murdered.”

“What?” The detectives both ask in dismay.

“She’s a block from here now. Helped her settle in an abandoned flat. Actually, scratch my earlier alibi. I was already moved in on Tuesday, procrastinating my temptations. I was giving Carolynn a hand after some time eleven-ish at night faking her death and finding her a new place to hide from her arsehole ex-boyfriend. Haven’t met him yet. But I’m staying in the area for a while more so I figured I’ll come across him eventually.” Crowley’s voice was serious the whole way through, and the detectives couldn’t believe they were hearing a word of it.

“What?” Alec asks just the once more.

“She’s really not that far from here. Follow me you two, she should be watching that show about baking just around now.”

“We heard she hated baking.”

“Ah, yeah, she’s a bit of a grump. Understandably though. Hates anything to do with cooking. Since Tuesday I’ve been bringing her takeout. Loves watching the shows though. Has a blast yellin’ at the contestants of baking shows about using the wrong batter, cookin’ at the wrong consistency, etcetera. Carolynn and I are like mates now. We’d sit at her new couch- custom made, she said she hated the old abandoned one, so I miracled her a new one -and we’d both eat Thai take out and yell at the screen together. Oh, we’re here now.”

They were stopped outside a smaller flat. The windows were boarded shut. Possibly abandoned for more than a year, by the state of the rotting shutters.

Crowley knocked on the door four times in a consecutive beat. “Mate?”

To the shock of Alec and Ellie, Carolynn Denise opened the rusty door and took a long swig from her glass of red wine.

“Company? Is it safe, Crowley?”

“Absolutely. In fact, they’re from Wessex Police. They’ve got your ex in custody.”

“What?” Ellie said. “We never told you about that!”

“Didn’t have to. Searched both of ya the moment I recognized Carolynn from the photo. Once I decide you’re under my watch, my protection, I’m very inclined to keep it that way until the very end.”

The air felt chillier around them. No wind. Just Crowley’s low growl. A shiver took its damned time crawling its way down Alec’s spine at the sound of it. Alec glared at the door.

“I just don’t understand,” Ellie says. “How on earth did you fake her death? The body that forensics retrieved was in every way identical to Carolynn’s, including DNA and dental records and… well, I could go on forever. Carolynn, your family confirmed it was your body. The clothes from your apartment while we were searching for traces of your ex further in town confirmed a DNA match. How the hell do you explain that? How do you fake a death so well?”

“He’s a demon, obviously.” Carolynn waved her glass, snorting.

Alec and Ellie frown. Crowley sighs and walks into the flat. The three of them soon follow behind.

“What do you mean by that?” Alec asks, his voice losing it’s volume once he saw that Crowley was removing his sunglasses. The blasted man was facing away from them, and Alec’s curiosity spiked.

“She means it literally.” Crowley turns, and Ellie startles.

“My word! Mr. Crowley, are you wearing contacts?”

“Not at all. They’re the real thing, you see.” He didn’t blink once, and it was starting to give Ellie the chills.

Alec, on the other hand, started squirming again. It drew Crowley’s attention, and the moment Crowley laid his very yellow cat-like gaze on him, Alec was stammering out Scottish variations of “ngk” and other verbal keyboard smashes.

“Detective Hardy?” Crowley asked, voice soft and moving languidly closer.

“Fuck-“

“Oh, I’d quite like to. Detective, perhaps you should sit? It really is a lovely couch. You’re not looking too well.”

“What did you do to me?” Alec grumbled out. He sank into the couch, glowering at how soft and plush it was. He was feeling very warm at the moment, and the couch under him was cool. He hoped it would seep the climbing heat from him.

Crowley finally blinked. “What?”

“You’re a demon, is that right? You faked a woman’s death to a very impossible degree. Doesn’t seem very demonly. But you also tempted men at the bar. Is that what you’re doing, now? What you’ve been doing since the bar? Tempting me?” Alec’s voice was a low growl.

“No?” Crowley sat on the arm of the couch in a very…unnatural way. Alec could feel himself short-circuit for a moment.

“What do you mean tempting you, Alec?” Ellie asked. Carolynn, behind her, rolled her eyes and poured more wine into her glass.

“Well, I-“ Alec squirmed. “I’ve been feeling…hot. Like hot flashes. Or spikes. And the butterflies! Or whatever that feeling is. I’ve been getting shivers down my spine. Goosebumps. Attraction. My heart’s been relentless too. Almost worried about the pacemaker at this point. Worried it might malfunction with how much my heart’s racing- What’re you lookin’ at me like that for, demon?”

Crowley was grinning. He almost looked happy. Probably. His eyes were…alluring. Like beacons in the dark. It felt safe to peer into them, for some reason. Like Alec was on a boat and those glowing yellow eyes were like a lighthouse. He shook his head, trying to physically ward away those thoughts.

“Mate, I can assure you that I didn’t tempt you. Not in the way I normally tempt humans, anyway. Usually, I just sway my hips, catch any fancy from my targets. If they don’t happen to fancy men, I’d either slip into femininity or just make them think of their wives. Mind you, I make them latch onto more romantic thoughts, like making the dinner that night, or spending some of their extra raise money on an extended vacation for their loved ones, but don’t ever tell Aziraph- ah, whatever, I’m miles and miles away from Soho. I don’t ever actually flirt with my targets, you know. It’s strictly business, and I don’t mess around on business.” There was a flash of something in his vermillion eyes, and Alec couldn’t look away.

“You didn’t…?”

“No. I didn’t. I like the sense of you. Good heart. Very attractive, if I might say-“

“You’re practically identical!” Ellie snorted.

“Yeah, might be something about my ego there, but never mind that. I like you, detective. But I only ever flirted with you. I’d mostly expect you’d simply be flustered or shut me down pretty early on, but… Well, looks like we’ve got something to talk about if you’d like.”

Alec gulped. “Mayb-ahem- uh, maybe.”

Crowley and Ellie’s brows both raised. Carolynn was eating some leftover Thai to pair along with her wine, ignoring the lot of them.

“Ah, anyway,” Alec’s voice wavered. “Carolynn, you should see your family. They’re, er, very worried. You should’ve told them the situation-“

“My sister knows. I told her Wednesday mornin’.”

“What! Why didn’t you- why didn’t she-“ Alec sighed. “Alright, enough of this. We’re going to have to terminate the investigation. Mr. Crowley, I’m, ah, sorry, but I’m going to have to bring you in for questioning. The chief doesn’t take kindly to wasting resources. And neither does the treasury. And I’m rather sure that faking someone’s death with a dead body as evidence is on the grounds of illegality and possible jail time.”

Alec took his handcuffs out, to Ellie’s torn dismay, and approached Crowley.

“Mm. Quite like the feel of handcuffs. Tried them before, you see.” Crowley grinned.

Alec lost his breath, gazing into those eyes, and his hands felt sweaty. “Ah.”

“Was it a real body, Mr. Crowley?” Ellie asked.

“No.”

“How can you prove it?”

“Let’s have a look at it now, do you think?” Crowley inquired. He looked over their shoulders to Carolynn. “I’ll have a chat with your ex, Carolynn. You won’t need to worry about him again. See you later than yeah?”

“Yeah.” She said between her Thai and wine.

Crowley grinned, looking at Alec once more, and snapping his fingers.

Within an instant, Crowley and the two detectives were in the Wessex police station.

“Wha- what the fuck?” Alec asked dizzily.

“My car!” Ellie groaned. Alec wondered how she could have gotten over the fact that demons were real and can do _magic_ like this so quickly.

“We’ve somehow transported ten miles in the span of a second, Miller. And you’re worried about your car?” Alec wondered incredulously.

“I don’t blame her,” Crowley said, smirking. “No worries, it’ll be just outside, in the nearby carpark.”

“Thanks,” said Ellie appreciatively.

Alec fumbled with the handcuffs in his sweaty hands awkwardly. He gulped when the jingle of it brought it again to Crowley’s focus.

Mercifully, he didn’t say anything about it this time. But Alec could feel that lingering gaze of his before those eyes were dragging about the rest of the station.

“Must be this way then, to the morgue?” Crowley said after a moment, making his way quite correctly towards the station’s morgue.

Upon Alec’s request, the mortician staff brought out Carolynn’s fake body. They all screamed when Crowley snapped his fingers and it shattered into a fine, golden dust.

“What the hell, Crowley!” Alec shouted.

“Accurate, yet poignant. Quite right. Well, there’s no body. Never has been, if you check your records. In fact, you haven’t been wasting resources one bit. It should all be sorted, now.”

“That’s impossible,” growled Alec.

“And weird.” Ellie chimed in. “How could you be sure?”

Crowley shrugged, a confident swagger to his once again cocked hip. “Demon.”

“Right, well that’s it!” Alec tossed the handcuffs to Ellie, who sighed in exasperation, left the handcuffs on the table because they were still sweaty, waved to Crowley, and said she was leaving early to see her boys. Maybe take them to church. Crowley grimaced but nodded.

“You alright, mate?” Crowley asked.

“What the hell is a real live demon doing in Broadchurch? It’s a quiet town!”

“Weren’t there a small number of murders and theft quite recently-“

“Mr. Crowley.” Alec drew out each syllable, anger pouring from him like steam from a kettle.

Crowley was finally serious once more.

“Any question you have, Alec, I’ll answer. I swear it. Fire away.”

“No.”

“What?”

“Not Alec. Don’t like Alec. Haven’t really liked that name.”

“Why not change it?”

“…Nah.” Alec sighed. The steam was cooling, and he was a little satisfied at the affirmation of cooperation.

“Well, I quite like it. Rolls of the tongue nice enough.” He flicked his serpent tongue out for a second as he sounded out Alec’s name.

Heat pooled as quick as hot wind in Alec’s gut. He could feel that shiver down his spine again. He hoped more than anything to see that forked tongue again.

“Yeah, I quite like it,” Crowley concluded. “Would sound nice anywhere. The office. The street.” He caught Alec’s gaze. “The bedroom.”

Alec’s legs nearly gave up on him at once. He inhaled sharply, looking anywhere but at the demon.

Crowley was silently watching him now. Likely waiting for an answer.

Alec wondered why he was so drawn to Crowley. Maybe his ego was similarly ridiculous. Maybe he should have experimented more with his bisexuality, so he wouldn’t be so easily flustered by some of the men that flirted with him. No chance of it in Broadchurch though. Small town, not many out men. And work has kept him so busy…

His eyes flicked to Crowley’s. “Then let’s try my name in the bedroom.” He squeaked.

Alec was actually rather embarrassed with how uncontrolled his voice was, but Crowley didn’t seem to mind at all.

Instead, those bright yellow and impossible eyes were scouring every inch of him with interest.

“Up for another snap?” He held his hand out, waiting for consent.

Alec nodded, almost too eagerly, still thoroughly hot and bothered since the moment he'd met the damned demon.

“Aye. Let’s.”

“How about my flat?”

“Sure,” said Alec, fidgeting. “Mind if I bring the handcuffs?”

“Ngk!”

**Author's Note:**

> I was literally writing this while watching the season 3 finale of Broadchurch. That show is fantastic! 
> 
> I'd binged the show within 3 days... welp. 
> 
> Anyways I ship Crowley and Alec now. 
> 
> (I still ship Crowley and Ten, and will eventually get back to them, but right now I'm a little consumed by this haha)


End file.
